Deepcut: ‘tell us the truth’

by SUZY SHANLEY WHEN Adam Ingram, minister for the armed forces, said no to a public inquiry into four deaths at Deepcut on Monday, he was saying it to eight parents, 200 MP’s, Amnesty International and a number of former soldiers.

These are the people who have campaigned for an independent inquiry into the four shootings at Deepcut and these were the people who were disappointed by Mr Ingram this week.

Following his statement in the House of Commons the families of Ptes Sean Benton, Cheryl James, Geoff Gray and James Collinson made their own announcement — that they will take their case to the High Court and seek a judicial review.

The four Privates were all found shot dead at the Deepcut barracks between 1995 and 2002 and their parents are still seeking an explanation as to what happened to them.

After their initial investigations the Army concluded they were suicides but a reinvestigation by Surrey Police brought to light examples of destroyed and missing evidence, and a culture of bullying and sexual harassment.

On Monday Mr Ingram was responding to the final report by Surrey Police which was published in March this year and which called for a “broader inquiry” into the Army’s training and duty of care regime.

Mr Ingram ruled out a public inquiry into the four deaths but outlined new measures being put into place to address the concerns raised by Surrey Police, including £23million to be invested in the training system.

He said: “That (£23million) will provide further instructor training, further improvement of supervisory ratios and increased opportunities for the use of recreational facilities and other welfare projects.”

In response to Surrey Police’s call for a broader inquiry, he added that he had appointed the adult learning inspectorate (ALI) to conduct annual independent inspections and oversight of the armed forces training establishments, including Deepcut.

He promised that “there will be no no-go areas” and that the first inspections would focus on initial training, looking specifically at care and welfare.

“The inspectorate will report to ministers by Easter next year and that report will be published,” he said.

“For the first time, all aspects of our training will be benchmarked against national standards and good practice.

“This will help reduce risks faced by young trainees not only in the army but in all three services.”

The families of the four Deepcut soldiers reacted furiously after the statement.

Geoff Gray, father of Pte Gray, said: “We are extremely angry, we came to the Government with a simple question — tell us the truth about how our children died.

“Adam Ingram had the ideal opportunity to let us find out, but he didn’t do that.”

He added that they had instructed lawyers to begin with procedures for a judicial review.

Mr Gray said he believed that the inspections outlined by Mr Ingram were not what Surrey Police had been calling for when they suggested a “broader inquiry”, and that Deputy Chief Constable Bob Quick would take it as a direct snub.

However, a spokesman for Surrey Police said: “We welcome the response by Adam Ingram to our fifth Deepcut report.

“We welcome the indications he has given regarding the appointment of an independent body to oversee recruit training — this is one of the steps we called for.

“The form that this oversight and any broader inquiry into recruit training takes is a matter for the MoD, not for Surrey Police.

“We do note that the Defence Select Committee is now holding an inquiry into these matters and we will be giving evidence to this in due course.”